Constant rise of UAVs sees amount of near misses grow three-fold

According to Press Association, which analysed incident reports from Airprox Board, a UK air safety body, there were 92 recorded near miss incidents in 2017.

The press organisation’s analysis also reported that there had been a 217% increase in the amount of incidents recorded in 2017 compared to 2015. The Airprox Board logged 29 near missed in 2015.

Former RAF and British Airways pilot Steve Landells, flight safety specialist at pilots’ union Balpa, described the figures as “very worrying.”

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“It’s really hard to see something that small,” he told the press. “There’s a possibility there are a lot more near misses that aren’t being seen.”

The revelation comes in the run up to the Government clamping down on nationwide use of unmanned aerial vehicles, both commercial and consumer systems.

The measures, which were devised by the Department for Transport, the Civil Aviation Authority, Innovate UK, and Baroness Sugg, are designed to place the UK at the forefront of the fast-growing drone industry.